George William Trimble
Mr. and Mrs. Thurman Trimble of Kilbourne, Ohio, formerly of West Van Lear, have received a letter from the Naval Department regarding their son, GeorgeWilliam ( Oral) who has been missing since July 14, 1943.
The letter reads in part:
Your son, George William Trimble Seaman, First-Class, has been carried on the official records of the Navy Department in the status of missing in action as of July 14, 1943. He was a member of an armed guard crew, serving on board the S. S. Samuel Heintzelman when that vessel was reported overdue from patrol and presumed lost. On July 1, 1943, the Samuel Heintzelman sailed singly from Freemantle, Australia for Colombo, Ceylon, where she was due to arrive on July 14, 1943. No message was known to have been received from that ship following her departure. She did not arrive at Columbo, or any other known port, however, on September 30, 1943, debris from a vessel, including a plank marked “ SS Samuel Heintzelman” was washed up off MinniMinni Village, Madine Islands. On the previous day, two lifeboats, apparently unoccupied, were sighted and later disappeared in the same area. Enemy naval units were known to be operating in the Indian Ocean at the time the Samuel Heintzeman was lost. To date, no further word has been received concerning that vessel or her crew. In view of the additional length of time that has now elapsed your son was determined to have been missing in action, and in view of the fact that his name has not appeared on any list of personnel liberated from Japanese prisoners of near camps, I am reluctantly forced to the conclusion that your son is deceased. I know what little solace the formal and written words can be to help meet the burden of your loss, but in spite of that knowledge, I cannot refrain from saying very simply that I am sorry, It is hoped that you find comfort in the thought that you son gave his life for his country, upholding the highest traditions of he Navy.
Sincerely Yours
James Forrestal
Paintsville Herald
Thursday
31 Jan 1946